Artunderwraps

Annotated Reference Guide to Collectible Books

Gregynog Press Annotated Bibliography & Selected Collectible Books

Welsh Masters: Gregynog Press

It is sometimes easy to forget how the private press revolution, born from the early presses of the nineteenth (and previous) centuries and spurred on by William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement, was actually a world-wide phenomenon before and after the First World War. Many collectors focus on the English private presses of the American institutes, in particular the London scene or those presses associated with academia.

One of these forgotten gems that still plays an active educational role to this day is the Gregynog Press, later turning into the GwasgGregynog. The Gregynog Press was originally a philanthropic venture by two sisters in the early nineteen hundreds, starting on a miniature Albion Press, before moving up to the Victoria Platen and finally the Heidelberg automated press. Luckily, their close association with the National Library of Wales allowed them to be well regarded by the Welsh literary and publishing scene, thus ensuring their continued existence.

Today, the Gwasg Gregynog is a private press which excels at items of Welsh history, folklore and personality, including early bibles, poetic works by Dylan Thomas and Ted Hughes. While they may not have the same artistic flair for innovation as other private presses have, they have remained a solid link to the history of the private press in Wales, and any whose personal collection feature elements of Welsh history should look no further.

For the collector, they can do well to specialize in the different periods of the Press's operation, looking to the volumes created on each press (the Albion, the Platen and later the Hiedelberg) for differences in type and design. Those who specialize in Welsh History will also find marvelous opportunities to collect limited and rare works of Welsh Song, Poetry and religious concordance.